Kitchen Call: Saturday means baked beans

Tuesday

Apr 15, 2014 at 1:30 PMApr 15, 2014 at 1:30 PM

By Linda BassettMore Content Now

Saturday night supper in early New England consisted of bread and beans. The bread dark brown, nothing like modern bakery breads, got its color and name, brown bread, from molasses that flavored the yellow cornmeal. White flour was so rare that colonists made their own version from corn kernels, dried and ground — what we know today as cornmeal. The dough was steamed, rather than baked for hours, like an English plum pudding. The result was dark, sweet and dense.The beans were common navy or pea beans, dried and stored for months. They needed long cooking, in more molasses, nestled into the coals of the family hearth, from eight to even 12 hours, until tender. The best thing about dried beans is you just can’t make the mistake of cooking them too long. They get better the longer they simmer.On Saturday night, the beans and the bread were served up hot and fragrant. But on Sunday morning, they were cold and congealed, barely enough to hold body and soul together for the full day of sitting on hard benches in a cold wooden church.By the 19th century, baked beans made the rounds as the sun went down, the country’s first take-out food. More colorful than today’s pizza delivery, the baker drove up and down the streets in his horse-drawn cart. The fragrance of molasses and spices from his earthenware pots announced his arrival. A bowlful big enough to feed the family cost about 10 cents and always included bits of salt pork.When the 20th century rolled around, home cooks replaced the salt pork with hot dogs — franks and beans. Beans and bread, cooked up at a shiny modern central plant, were from cans picked up at the grocery store. The fragrance was still unmistakable New England Saturday night when everyone in the neighborhood feasted on the same meal.Modern cooks often try their hands at recreating the past, starting the dried beans from scratch and sending those aromas through the house on a chilly Saturday. Some shortcut the process and gussy up canned beans with little riffs of their own. While scratch can be nice, most of us agree we can’t do better than start with that familiar can from Maine.Below, two recipes started from the ready-made beans; one in an inventive casserole, the other brown bread transformed as stuffing. Plus a slightly unorthodox scratch version of baked beans. I think they all taste better after a day’s rest in the fridge. But I like them heated, never stone cold.BOSTON BROWN BREAD STUFFINGMakes 6 servingsUse this stylish innovation on the familiar as a side dish with baked beans, or as a stuffing folded into a pounded out skinless chicken breasts. Each echoes Saturday night supper of the past.1-pound can Boston brown bread, cubed4 cups soft Italian bread, crust removed, cubed4 ounces bacon, cut crosswise in 1-inch pieces1/2 stick butter1/2 cup chopped onion3/4 cup chicken stock or apple juice or mixture of bothSalt, pepper, cinnamon, to tasteButter an 8-by-11-inch baking dish. Preheat oven to 250 F.Spread bread cubes in a single layer on two baking sheets; bake about 1-1/2 hours until dried.Cook bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Pour out all but two tablespoons of the drippings. Add butter to pan; heat and melt. Add onion; cook until tender, about 7 minutes.Toss cooked onion, salt, pepper and cinnamon with bread. Stir in the chicken stock or juice. Transfer the mixture to the buttered baking dish.Cover with aluminum foil; bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake, 20 minutes longer until nicely browned on top.BAKED BEAN CASSEROLE WITH APPLE RUM CRUSTMakes 6 to 8 servingsLook for dried beans at a store where they sell quickly. Dried beans that are too old will take forever to tenderize. To soak dried beans, first pick them over for pebbles or shriveled beans. Then pour them into a bowl, with enough cold water to cover by 2-inches. I refrigerate them overnight. Refrigeration isn’t necessary, but I like to take the precaution.Cut apples for the crust into a bowl of water to cover, stirring in the juice of a lemon, about 3-4 tablespoons, to keep them from turning brown. Drain when ready to make the crust.1 pound dried navy beans, picked over, rinsed, and soaked overnight1 large onion, finely chopped2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger2 tablespoons tomato paste2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar2/3 cup dark molasses1 tablespoon dry mustard1-1/2 teaspoons salt12-ounces beer8 ounce chunk salt pork8 whole cloves2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted1/4 cup packed light brown sugar1/4 cup dark rumDrain and rinse beans well under gently running water. Place in a pot. Cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil; simmer, uncovered, until beans are just tender, about 45 minutes. Drain well. Preheat oven to 300 F.Place beans in a 1-quart casserole. Add onion, ginger, tomato paste, vinegar, molasses, dry mustard and salt, stirring to mix all the ingredients. Add beer and additional water to cover the beans by 2 inches. Score the salt pork with a sharp knife to keep it from curling. Stick the cloves into the salt pork, and bury it under the beans.Cover and bake 5 hours. Every hour, take them out of the oven, stir and add more water to keep them covered.To make the crust, arrange apple slices in circles over the top. Melt the butter in a saucepan, gently whisking in the brown sugar and rum until smooth. Pour this mixture over the apple slices. Return the casserole to the oven, to bake, uncovered, for one more hour.WEIRDLY DELICIOUS BOSTON BAKED BEANSMakes 4 to 6 servings2 medium cans of baked beans1 pound bacon, cooked and drained, 1 tablespoon of fat reserved1 pound breakfast sausage, cooked and drained, 1 tablespoon of fat reserved3 medium green peppers, chopped1 medium onion, chopped3-ounce can tomato paste3 tablespoons molasses1 teaspoon dry mustard2 cups dry red wineHeat the bacon and sausage drippings in the skillet. Add the onions and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes until softened.Stir together bacon, sausage, onions and peppers into a casserole or bean pot, and add the remaining ingredients.Bake, uncovered for 1 hour. Serve hot, or cool and refrigerate, covered, overnight.Linda Bassett is the author of “From Apple Pie to Pad Thai: Neighborhood Cooking North of Boston.” Reach her by email at KitchenCall@aol.com. Read Linda’s blog at LindABCooks.wordpress.com. Follow Linda for quick recipes on Twitter at @Kitchencall.

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